Reflection for February 21 Saturday after Ash Wednesday: Luke 5:27-32

Gospel: Luke 5:27-32

Jesus saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the customs post. He said to him, "Follow me." And leaving everything behind, he got up and followed him. Then Levi gave a great banquet for him in his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were at table with them.

The Pharisees and their scribes complained to his disciples, saying, "Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?" Jesus said to them in reply, "Those who are healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do. I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners."

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Reflection:

What made Jesus call Levi to follow Him? And what moved Levi to leave everything behind to follow Jesus?

Levi was a sinner—just like us. Perhaps he had grown weary of the life he was living. Perhaps deep within his heart, there was a longing for something more, something cleaner, something true. And when Jesus looked at him—not with condemnation, but with compassion—Levi encountered mercy face to face.

When Jesus called him, Levi did not delay. He rose, left everything behind, and followed Him. Why? Because at last, he found someone who did not define him by his past. He found someone who believed he could change. He found someone who offered him not judgment, but a new beginning.

In this Gospel moment, we are not only witnesses—we are participants. For how often are we quick to judge those we consider sinners, forgetting that we, too, depend daily on God’s mercy? Who are we to condemn when we ourselves have been forgiven again and again?

Jesus shows us a different way. He teaches us to look beyond a person’s failures and see their potential for renewal. He invites us to become instruments of His mercy—people who give second chances, people who speak hope, people who believe that transformation is possible through grace.

There are many around us who are tired of their sins. Many are silently longing to rise but feel trapped by shame and the weight of judgment. They may be waiting—not for criticism—but for someone to believe in them, someone to extend a hand instead of pointing a finger.

Let us ask the Lord to soften our hearts. Let us choose mercy over condemnation, compassion over criticism. Let us be the kind of people whose presence makes others feel that change is still possible. For perhaps someone’s conversion is waiting—not just for God’s call—but for our willingness to reflect His mercy.

When Jesus looks at sinners with love, do we look at them the same way—or do we stand in the way of the very grace that once saved us? —Marino J. Dasmarinas